Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Ireland unveils 15-bln-euro austerity plan to secure bailout

by Loic Vennin and Andrew Bushe, AFP

1 hr 28 mins ago

DUBLIN (AFP) – Ireland unveiled a 15-billion-euro austerity package Wednesday required to unlock an international bailout, slashing public sector pay and pensions but refusing to raise corporation tax.

With the eyes of Europe on his debt-ridden nation, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said his four-year package of cuts and tax increases would restore shattered confidence, calling it a signpost on the road to recovery.

“We can and we will pull through this as we have in the past,” Cowen told a news conference.

2 General strike cripples debt-hit Portugal

by Thomas Cabral, AFP

2 hrs 14 mins ago

LISBON (AFP) – Portugal’s first mass general strike in more than two decades brought the country to a halt Wednesday to protest spending cuts the government says are vital to avoid financial disaster.

Both public and private sector workers joined the one-day strike, which follows similar stoppages in countries such as Greece and France, as governments are forced into unpopular cost-cutting programmes.

The head of the main UGT union, Joao Proenca, said, “It is the biggest strike ever staged,” after workers ranging from teachers, train drivers and firemen to doctors and entertainers all walked out.

3 Irish PM fights for survival as euro fears resurface

by Loic Vennin and Andrew Bushe

Tue Nov 23, 4:30 pm ET

DUBLIN (AFP) – Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen battled for his political survival Tuesday, while Germany said Ireland’s international bailout showed the future of the euro itself was on the line.

The efforts of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to shore up the debt-laden Irish economy were called into question as the euro sank to a two-month low, dipping under 1.34 dollars.

As anger at Cowen and the Irish government grew at home, Portugal — tipped to be the next eurozone economy to need a bailout — was bracing for a general strike on Wednesday.

4 Eurozone crisis accelerates in Portugal, Spain and Ireland

AFP

Wed Nov 24, 9:09 am ET

LISBON (AFP) – The eurozone debt crisis rose several notches on Wednesday with a general strike in Portugal, pressure on Spain and attacks on the Irish government as it was to present radical austerity measures.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood by the Irish rescue but repeated her hard line that big changes were needed in the eurozone, and analysts wondered if Germany might eventually want to abandon the single currency.

Portugal, regarded in financial markets as possibly the third eurozone country after Greece and Ireland to need a rescue, faced nationwide protests against ever deeper budget rigour to correct public finances.

5 ‘National tragedy’ as 29 perish in N.Z. mine disaster

by Neil Sands, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 12:49 pm ET

GREYMOUTH, New Zealand (AFP) – All 29 men missing in a New Zealand coal mine have died after a powerful second blast tore through the pit, authorities said Wednesday, plunging the country into mourning.

Police said there was now no chance of finding anyone alive, confirming the country’s worst mining accident in nearly a century. Prime Minister John Key called it a “national tragedy” and said flags would fly at half-mast.

“Where this morning we held on to hope, we must now make way for sorrow,” Key said. “Today, all New Zealanders grieve for these men. We are a nation in mourning.”

6 Liu wins redemption as another drugs case tars Asian Games

by Martin Parry, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 1:19 pm ET

GUANGZHOU, China (AFP) – Superstar hurdler Liu Xiang won redemption Wednesday in front of home fans for his Beijing Olympic disaster by claiming Asian Games gold on a day tarnished by a second positive doping test.

On day 12 of the showpiece multi-sports event, dominant table-toppers China made the Guangzhou Games its most successful ever in terms of total medals.

Li Caixia’s gold and Li Ling’s silver in the women’s pole vault were the 343rd and 344th for the hosts, surpassing the previous record of 342 that China won in Beijing in 1990.

7 Fed slashes US growth forecasts

by Andrew Beatty, AFP

Tue Nov 23, 6:17 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US economy will grow at a much slower pace than expected this year and next, as unemployment remains stubbornly high, according to bleak new Federal Reserve estimates published Tuesday.

Painting a gloomy picture of the short-term fate of the world’s largest economy, minutes from the Fed’s November meeting estimated growth would be around half a percentage point less than expected this year and in 2011.

At the meeting, members of the Fed’s top policy-setting panel slashed already anemic growth predictions to 2.4-2.5 percent this year and 3.0-3.6 percent in the next.

8 Afghanistan unveils results from fraud-marred vote

by Waheedullah Massoud, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 9:18 am ET

KABUL (AFP) – Afghanistan on Wednesday released almost all the final results from its controversial parliamentary election after massive fraud saw nearly a quarter of votes cancelled and 24 winners disqualified.

The main opponent of President Hamid Karzai swiftly claimed that his supporters had won more than 90 seats in the 249-member chamber as analysts said the head of state’s support base in the new parliament would weaken.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) declared the vote a “major success,” but disqualified another three people who won seats according to preliminary results and delayed certified results from one troubled province.

9 England ready for ‘something special’ in Ashes

by Robert Smith, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 6:13 am ET

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) – Skipper Andrew Strauss said Wednesday he was confident his players could pull off ‘something pretty special’ and win England’s first Ashes series in Australia in a generation.

The five-Test series gets underway on Thursday with England chasing their first victory at the Brisbane Gabba fortress since Mike Gatting’s team last prevailed on their way to the tourists’ last Australian series victory in 1986/87.

Strauss said his team was well prepared from three tour leadup games in Australian conditions and was ready to lay down a marker in the all-important first match against Ricky Ponting’s under pressure home team.

10 Ireland austerity plan draws skepticism

By Padraic Halpin and Carmel Crimmins, Reuters

1 hr 32 mins ago

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland revealed an austerity plan to tackle its debt crisis and secure an international bailout on Wednesday and drew accusations of overconfidence in assuming the crippled economy can grow.

As tempers flared across Europe over the financial and social cost of rescuing Ireland, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said politicians must show financial markets who is in charge and make investors share in the risk of future debt crises.

Officials tried to soothe fears that Ireland’s crisis would spread to Portugal, where workers staged a general strike on Wednesday, and beyond to bigger euro zone economies.

11 Portugal unions strike over austerity measures

By Axel Bugge, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 12:57 pm ET

LISBON (Reuters) – Portuguese labor unions mounted a general strike on Wednesday, pressing the government to scrap austerity measures intended to ward off a debt crisis that is spreading through the euro zone.

After Ireland’s decision to seek assistance from the EU and IMF, investors are turning their attention to other financially weak euro zone nations like Portugal.

Any wavering in the Socialist government’s commitment to austerity measures could push up Portugal’s borrowing costs in the same vicious spiral that forced Dublin and before it Athens to seek rescues. A Reuters poll showed a majority of economists expect Portugal to seek a bailout.

12 Ireland set for majority stakes in leading banks

By Steve Slater, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 6:51 am ET

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland is set to take a majority stake in top lender Bank of Ireland as part of a massive international bailout that could leave the state with effective control of the country’s top three banks.

The state’s ownership of Bank of Ireland could rise to near 80 percent from 36 percent now under the bailout, put at up to 85 billion euros ($114 billion), and Allied Irish Banks could join Anglo Irish Bank in being fully nationalized.

The European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed to provide external assistance to Ireland to shore up its banks and give them access to cheaper state funding.

13 Merkel: EU needs courage to make investors share risk

By Stephen Brown, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 11:03 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday European politicians needed the courage to make private investors share in the risk of future debt crises in the euro zone and show financial markets who is in charge.

“Have politicians got the courage to make those who earn money share in the risk as well? Or is dealing in government debt the only business in the world economy that involves no risk?” Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament.

“This is about the primacy of politics, this is about the limits of the markets,” said the chancellor, acknowledging that her insistence on this issue was making markets nervous.

14 Cholera-hit Haiti needs nurses, doctors: U.N.

By Pascal Fletcher, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 12:50 pm ET

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Haiti needs a surge of foreign nurses and doctors to stem deaths from a raging cholera epidemic that an international aid operation is struggling to control, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official said.

Around 1,000 trained nurses and at least 100 more doctors were urgently needed to control the epidemic, which has struck the impoverished Caribbean nation months after a destructive earthquake.

The outbreak has killed more than 1,400 Haitians in five weeks and the death toll is climbing by dozens each day.

15 File BP oil spill claims early, administrator says

By Bruce Nichols, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 1:53 pm ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) – The administrator of BP Plc’s $20-billion fund for victims of the worst U.S. offshore oil spill on Wednesday encouraged claimants to file early for final settlements to get the most generous terms.

“I am determined to be more generous than the courts would be…” said Kenneth Feinberg of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility on a conference call as the program stopped taking emergency claims and started work on final settlements.

He warned that Gulf Coast people and businesses who decline to settle and refuse to give BP and its contractors a release from future risk of lawsuits might end up getting less money.

16 U.N. seeks climate progress; deal may be years off

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

Wed Nov 24, 10:16 am ET

OSLO (Reuters) – The world will seek to break a U.S.-China standoff and agree modest steps to rein in global warming at U.N. talks in Mexico next week amid worries that the first climate treaty since 1992 may still be years away.

Most nations have few hopes for the meeting of environment ministers from November 29 to December 10 in the Caribbean resort of Cancun after U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders failed to agree a treaty at last year’s U.N. Copenhagen summit.

Sights are lower for Cancun, which will test the ability of the United Nations to reconcile the interests of China and the United States, the top greenhouse gas emitters, and those of 192 other nations in a 21st century world order. All have a veto.

17 Oracle ruling tarnishes SAP’s U.S. reputation

Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 12:42 pm ET

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A record $1.3 billion fine slapped on SAP for downloading rival Oracle’s software has tarnished the German software maker’s reputation and is set to undermine its sales and profitability in the United States.

“Even though SAP may appeal the judgment, the huge amount should be negative for the stock price and, will weaken SAP’s position in the U.S.,” said Jacques Abramowicz, analyst at Silvia Quandt research.

“Oracle will use the decision as a marketing tool, wielding the moral cudgel every time new contracts are negotiated,” he added.

18 Protests, complaints greet "final" Afghan poll results

By Hamid Shalizi and Paul Tait, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 9:51 am ET

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan officials announced most of the long-delayed results from a September parliamentary election on Wednesday, but more disqualifications and protests and the emergence of a potential new opposition bloc clouded the poll.

The credibility of the result will weigh heavily on U.S. President Barack Obama’s review of his Afghanistan war strategy, due next month, amid rising violence and sagging public support, especially after a fraud-marred presidential election last year.

Consistent allegations of vote fraud in both polls have raised questions about the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government at a time when U.S. and NATO officials have been re-examining their long-term commitment in Afghanistan.

19 All 29 trapped miners in New Zealand dead: police

By Gyles Beckford, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 7:14 am ET

GREYMOUTH, New Zealand (Reuters) – All 29 miners trapped underground in a New Zealand mine for five days are believed to be dead following a second explosion, police said on Wednesday, as the government vowed to investigate the disaster.

The miners were trapped in the 2.3 km (1.4 mile) main tunnel of the Pike River Coal mine last Friday night when methane gas caused a massive explosion in the mountain on New Zealand’s south island. Two other miners narrowly escaped by running out of the mine.

“Today all New Zealanders grieve for these men. We are a nation in mourning,” said Prime Minister John Key said in an address to the nation in which he announced an inquiry would be held into the disaster. “New Zealand is a small country…where we are our brothers keepers. To lose so many brothers at once strikes an agonizing blow.”

20 Airlines low key in U.S. security controversy

By John Crawley, Reuters

Tue Nov 23, 6:59 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Airlines are keeping a low profile when it comes to the furor over U.S. passenger security screening, which will mainly affect leisure customers during the holiday period, not premium paying business travelers.

Airline shares were lower on Tuesday along with the broader market as the Thanksgiving travel crush accelerated. Airline shares closed 1.97 percent lower at $48.25 on the ARCA Air line Index.

Airlines expect to carry 24 million people over the 12-day period that ends early next week, a slight increase over last year.

21 FBI raids send warning to hedge funds

By Grant McCool, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 4:45 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – FBI raids on hedge funds were a sign that prosecutors feared evidence in a widening insider trading probe could be destroyed, but the dramatic daytime searches may also have been intended to shake up the secretive hedge fund world, legal experts said.

Investigators most likely swooped down on the funds Monday in Connecticut and Massachusetts because they had a major concern that subpoenas for information would not be properly obeyed, lawyers and investigators said.

The raids served another purpose: warning the broader financial industry that a serious prosecution effort was underway.

22 China turns up heat on Taiwan to talk politics

By Ralph Jennings, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 3:53 am ET

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Chinese officials are mounting pressure on Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to move toward political agreements as he shrugs them off despite a recent easing of tension after decades of hostility, analysts say.

Beijing’s growing impatience, though seldom expressed openly, could set back trade, transit and economic cooperation deals for which Taiwan has looked to Beijing since 2008 for help in advancing its $416 billion economy.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency to get this thing going,” said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence.

23 Gloom, anger spreads as European economies teeter

By ALAN CLENDENNING and SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press

36 mins ago

DUBLIN – Anger and fear about Europe’s seemingly unstoppable debt crisis coursed through the continent Wednesday. Striking workers shut down much of Portugal, Ireland proposed its deepest budget cuts in history and seething Italian and British students clashed with police over education cuts.

Amid it all, analysts were deeply skeptical about the future – saying even the desperate efforts of governments, the European Union and the International Monetary might not be enough to prevent countries from defaulting or banks from going under.

The Irish Stock Exchange saw a bloodbath in bank stocks as investors pushed the panic button and bond traders were betting that it would only be a matter of time before Portugal and possibly Spain would be the next countries begging for outside help.

24 Pelosi’s new mission: Limit Obama deals with GOP

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press

37 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Hers was the face on the grainy negative TV ads that helped defeat scores of Democrats. His agenda, re-election chances and legacy are on the line. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, chosen after a messy family feud among Democrats to remain as their leader in the new Congress, and President Barack Obama share a keen interest in repairing their injured party after this month’s staggering losses.

But Pelosi’s mandate is diverging from the president’s at a critical time, with potentially damaging consequences for Obama’s ability to cut deals with Republicans in the new Congress.

Their partnership is strained after an election in which Pelosi and many Democrats feel the White House failed them by muddling the party’s message and being too slow to provide cover for incumbents who cast tough votes for Obama’s marquee initiatives.

25 Color-coded terror warnings on track to disappear

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press

35 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Goodbye danger defined as yellow, orange and red. The Homeland Security Department is looking to scrap the five-tiered color-coded terror warning system in favor of a streamlined one with as few as two alerts. The post-9/11, Bush-era system has been criticized as too vague to be useful in communicating the terror threat to the public, either ignored or the butt of jokes.

One option under consideration is to go to two threat levels instead of five: elevated and imminent. When the threat level would change to imminent under the new model, government officials would be expected to be as specific as possible in describing the threat without jeopardizing national security. And an imminent threat would not last longer than a week, meaning the public wouldn’t see a consistently high and ambiguous threat level.

The 8-year-old alert system, with its rainbow of colors – from green, signifying a low threat, to red, meaning severe – has become a fixture in airports, government buildings and on newscasts.

26 US warns of likely harm from WikiLeaks release

By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer

1 hr 27 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said Wednesday it has alerted Congress and begun notifying foreign governments that the WikiLeaks website is preparing to release sensitive U.S. diplomatic files that could damage U.S. relations with friends and allies.

Officials said the documents may contain everything from accounts of compromising conversations with political dissidents and friendly politicians to disclosures of activities that could result in the expulsion of U.S. diplomats from foreign postings.

U.S. diplomatic outposts around the world have begun notifying other governments that WikiLeaks may release these documents in the next few days.

27 2nd blast ends hopes for survival of 29 NZ miners

By JOE MORGAN and RAY LILLEY, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 10:09 am ET

GREYMOUTH, New Zealand – Elation over a possible rescue attempt quickly turned to anguish for the families of 29 New Zealand miners missing underground since last week when a second powerful blast ended any hope for another mine miracle.

Wednesday’s massive explosion deep inside the mine on New Zealand’s South Island came five days after the men were caught underground by a similar blast. Even in the unlikely event that any had survived the first one, police said none could have lived through the second.

“The blast was prolific,” said police superintendent Gary Knowles, in charge of the rescue operation, “just as severe as the first blast.”

28 First arrest made in new insider trading crackdown

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

30 mins ago

NEW YORK – The first strike in a new federal offensive to root out insider trading on Wall Street came Wednesday with the arrest of a consulting firm executive who prosecutors said tipped off a hedge fund manager about corporate earnings before they became public.

The arrest of Don Ching Trang Chu of Somerset, N.J., came when investigators realized he was heading to Taiwan on Sunday. He made the trip frequently, but authorities were apparently concerned that he was traveling ahead of what are expected to be multiple arrests in the probe and after he had been interviewed by FBI agents on Sunday.

Three hedge funds with offices in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts were raided Monday in the investigation, and on Tuesday, prominent mutual fund company Janus Capital Group said it had been subpoenaed. There was no indication Chu had dealt with those companies.

29 Palin’s ‘Dancing’ success defies easy explanation

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

Wed Nov 24, 1:20 pm ET

A shadow political campaign or an “attagirl” for a struggling amateur? Bristol Palin’s success on this season’s “Dancing With the Stars” defies easy explanation.

Either way, Bristol has something to brag about if talk at the Palin dinner table turns toward vote-getting ability. Just like her mom, Sarah, and her campaign for the vice presidency two years ago, however, Bristol fell short at the end. She finished third to champion Jennifer Grey of “Dirty Dancing” fame during the ABC competition’s two-hour finale Tuesday. Runner-up was Disney Channel star Kyle Massey.

Palin’s march, shimmy and cha-cha to the finals put “Dancing With the Stars,” of all programs, into the nation’s political cauldron. Clearly, Bristol drew support from many people who admire her mother, who frequently appeared in the show’s studio audience to root for her daughter. Bristol said Tuesday that if she won, “it would be like giving a big middle finger to people who hate my mom and hate me.”

30 Jury: SAP must pay nemesis Oracle $1.3 billion

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Wed Nov 24, 6:58 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Oracle Corp.’s courtroom clash with archenemy SAP AG has paid off handsomely.

A jury on Tuesday ordered SAP to pay $1.3 billion – more than half of its total profit last year – for a subsidiary’s skullduggery in stealing a stockpile of software and customer-support documents from password-protected Oracle websites.

The German software company was caught off guard by the size of the verdict. It had only set aside $160 million for anticipated damages, and already paid $120 million of that to Oracle’s lawyers.

31 AP-Gfk Poll: Holiday shoppers cautious with credit

By ALAN FRAM and JENNIFER AGIESTA, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 12:45 pm ET

WASHINGTON – As the holiday shopping frenzy hits a fever pitch this weekend, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds consumers planning to be more cautious when paying with plastic this year.

Among the one in five Americans who plan to pay for most of their holiday season expenses with credit cards, 84 percent say they plan to pay the bills in full as soon as they arrive, up nine points over last year and 18 points since 2008.

“Unfortunately, you have to be disciplined,” said letter carrier Shelton Rhodes of Aurora, Colo., who plans to keep his holiday spending at last year’s levels. “Otherwise, you get sticker shock when January comes by” and the credit card bills appear.

32 Conservatives at odds with Vatican over condoms

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

Wed Nov 24, 7:00 am ET

NEW YORK – Faced with a changing outlook from Pope Benedict XVI on condoms and their role in preventing the spread of HIV, many prominent conservative Roman Catholics in the U.S. are rejecting the Vatican’s own explanation of what the pope said.

Several orthodox Catholics said they would only accept a more formal papal pronouncement. Others insisted that journalists were purposely misrepresenting Benedict’s comments. Some questioned whether the papal spokesman, the Rev. Frederico Lombardi, accurately quoted the pope.

Bishops and the experts who advise them were scrambling to make sense of the news.

33 Lawyer: Emanuel broke Chicago mayor residency rule

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press

31 mins ago

CHICAGO – As he travels about the city, assuring Chicagoans that he is one of them, Rahm Emanuel must be asking himself why he just didn’t leave his house vacant when he went off to work in the White House. Or rent it to a buddy or a relative.

That’s because a cornerstone of an expected legal challenge to his status as a Chicagoan – a challenge that, if successful, would knock him off the February ballot and out of the city’s mayor’s race – is that when Emanuel rented his house he broke the rule that a candidate must live in the city a full year before the election.

“He doesn’t have a house. … He’s not a resident if (he’s) renting the house,” said Burt Odelson, a Chicago election attorney who said he’s filing a challenge against Emanuel with the city’s Board of Election Commissioners as early as Friday on behalf of several “objectors” who he would not name.

34 Murkowski seeks voice in Alaska election lawsuit

By DAN JOLING, Associated Press

1 hr 25 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday called for a rapid resolution to a lawsuit brought by election rival Joe Miller, claiming Alaska will be harmed if she isn’t sworn in Jan. 3.

Attorneys for Murkowski said her seat will be vacant and Alaska will have only one senator if she’s not seated on time.

“There are numerous critical issues facing our nation and Alaskans deserve to have full representation in the United States Senate,” attorney Scott M. Kendall wrote in a motion to intervene in the lawsuit.

35 APNewsBreak: Soldier in Afghan case waives hearing

By GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press

2 hrs 48 mins ago

SEATTLE – A U.S. soldier who told his family of an alleged plot to kill Afghan civilians for kicks – only to be charged in the case later – has waived his right to a preliminary hearing, meaning his case will likely go straight to military trial, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Spc. Adam Winfield of Cape Coral, Fla., is one of five soldiers charged in the deaths of three civilians during patrols in Kandahar Province this year.

Prosecutors said he willingly participated in the final killing, but his lawyer, Eric Montalvo, has argued that Winfield feared he’d be killed by one of his co-defendants if he didn’t follow an order to shoot at the victim.

36 Audi flagship sedan is sporty, not stodgy

By ANN M. JOB, For The Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 1:07 pm ET

High-brow luxury sedan buyers who don’t want to be stodgy or predictable have a newly updated choice, the 2011 Audi A8.

Audi’s flagship four door isn’t just longer, wider and more powerful than before. Its new exterior styling is arguably the most distinctive and sporty of any executive-level luxury sedan on the market.

The 2011 A8’s well-crafted interior also has features any tech-savvy business person will love, such as a touch pad where a driver can, with a finger, write letters and numbers that are recognized by the onboard computer as a phone number or a destination. The idea is to keep driver eyes on the road ahead and not down on some knob or onboard menu.

37 Holocaust survivors deal with purported $42M fraud

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 11:35 am ET

NEW YORK – Walk along the boardwalk on a late autumn day, and Brighton Beach can seem like an old-age home by the sea, where stooped ladies wear rouge like armor and almost everyone lives in the shadow of a difficult past.

Along this Brooklyn outpost’s ocean edge – the heart of much community life here – locals are talking about the betrayal they feel after the arrest of 17 people, mostly Brighton Beach residents, on charges that they faked stories of Holocaust survival to profit from money meant for survivors of Nazi persecution.

“I cannot imagine that someone would lie like that; it’s a terrible crime,” says Klara Rakhlin, 72, her bright makeup stark against her black, coiffed hair as she speaks in Russian. “I lost my family in a concentration camp, and it’s disgusting that people would get compensation although they haven’t suffered.”

38 Animal CSI: Vets learn how to investigate crimes

By MITCH STACY, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 7:09 am ET

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – When federal investigators working the Michael Vick dogfighting case needed someone to dig up and analyze the remains of eight pit bulls buried on the football star’s Virginia property, they summoned Melinda Merck.

The nation’s top forensic veterinarian, Merck was one of the few specialists trained in processing crime scenes involving animals. Her job at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals involves helping prosecutors build court cases, and she saw there weren’t nearly enough vets and other professionals with those skills.

The 46-year-old Merck is trying to change that, co-founding a first-of-its-kind veterinary forensic science training program at the University of Florida. She and scientists from the university’s renowned human forensics lab are sharing their expertise with animal-cruelty investigators, police and veterinarians who come from around the world.

39 Heritage turkeys make comeback, but diners needed

By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 3:42 am ET

WESTPORT, Mass. – Bill and Sherri Battles know the best way to save their rare red, gray and brown turkeys is to eat them.

Owners of a 25-acre farm in Westport, Mass., the Battles are among a small but growing number of farmers raising breeds of turkey with bloodlines that date back centuries yet are quite different – in size, taste and price – from the vast majority of birds sold at today’s supermarkets.

Known as “heritage” turkeys, their survival may well hinge on Americans’ willingness to create a market for them by putting them on their Thanksgiving tables.

40 Don’t touch my junk: TSA officers hear complaints

By TAMARA LUSH and SARAH BRUMFIELD, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 3:15 am ET

TAMPA, Fla. – Airport security officer Ricky McCoy has heard the jokes: What does TSA stand for? “The Sexual Assailants.”

TSA officers report being punched, kicked and shoved during pat-downs, and say one woman headbutted a screener who was searching her laptop. They are being called molesters and ordered not to touch “my junk.” And while they know the new searches are more invasive, officers want Thanksgiving travelers to keep in mind they are just doing their jobs to make flying safe.

“We just want the public to understand that we’re not perverts, we’re not sexual assailants,” said McCoy, who heads a local TSA union for Illinois and Wisconsin.

41 Anti-AIDS groups hail drug but worry over cost

By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 3:11 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO – AIDS prevention advocates are hailing a pill newly shown to protect against HIV as a great tool for disease prevention.

But they caution that no drug alone can address social factors blamed for the persistence of the epidemic. And they say concerns remain about who will pay for the costly treatment.

A study released Tuesday showed that daily doses of a drug called Truvada, already used to treat HIV infection, cut the risk of new infections among healthy gay men.

42 Texas priest accused of trying to hire hit man

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 9:32 pm ET

SAN ANTONIO – A Roman Catholic priest has been arrested on charges that he solicited a hit man to kill a teenager who had accused him of sexual abuse. Authorities said John Fiala first offered the job to a neighbor, who blew the whistle and helped police arrange a sting. They said Fiala got as far as negotiating a $5,000 price for the slaying before investigators moved in.

The 52-year-old clergyman was arrested Nov. 18 at his suburban Dallas home and jailed on $700,000 bond. In April, he was named in a lawsuit filed by the boy’s family, who accused Fiala of molesting the youth, including twice forcing him to have sex at gunpoint.

The abuse allegedly took place in 2007 and 2008, when Fiala was a priest at the Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in the West Texas community of Rocksprings, a rural enclave known for sheep and goat herding.

43 Lost in frenzy over searches, travelers hit roads

By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 8:13 pm ET

LAS VEGAS – Michael Sommermeyer’s Thanksgiving plan goes like this: Load his wife and children into their Ford Taurus, hand his teens an iPad stocked with movies and drive 15 hours – from Las Vegas to Texas.

Sommermeyer would not have it any other way.

Lost in the frenzy over new airport inspections is the fact that 94 percent of holiday travelers will reach their destination by road this year. For some, a snarled freeway and $3-a-gallon gasoline is a welcome respite from the madness of air travel.

44 Panel: Deny NYC mayor’s choice for schools

By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 8:08 pm ET

NEW YORK – An advisory panel appointed to weigh the qualifications of Hearst Magazines Chairwoman Cathie Black to head New York City schools recommended on Tuesday denying a waiver that would allow the noneducator to serve as chancellor of the country’s largest school system.

State Education commissioner David Steiner is not required to follow the panel’s advice in deciding whether to grant the waiver, nor is he required to consider public opinion.

“I will weigh their advice and insight as I consider the decision before me,” Steiner said in a statement.

45 Priest sought riches online as ‘Jerry from Philly’

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 6:24 pm ET

PHILADELPHIA – A Roman Catholic priest suspended after federal agents seized a computer from his inner-city rectory has long sought riches online, where he sports a tuxedo and calls himself “Jerry from Philly.”

The Rev. Geraldo Pinero endorses several so-called multilevel marketing companies on Facebook, blogs and other online posts that include his real name, photo and parish address.

The 46-year-old pastor also appears, sans religious collar, wearing a sweater or velvet blazer and talking about his goal of earning “extra income on the side.” He promises recruits they can make thousands of dollars a month selling candles or life coaching or other services.

3 comments

  1. of money laundering. Yahooo! The bug man goes down. Finally

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